walnut for desk tabletop

[Igor Petrenko]

How well will walnut work for writing/computer desk tabletop that would be in daily use? It's not that hard kind of a wood - I have to be so carefull during sanding not to ding it.

[Matt Armstrong]

How well will walnut work for writing/computer desk tabletop that would be in daily use? It's not that hard kind of a wood - I have to be so carefull during sanding not to ding it.

Walnut is frequently used for desks / writing surfaces - I would recommend a tougher finish than oil, but it should work just fine once finished properly. Conversion varnish would probably be the best but most of us can't use it... a short oil phenolic varnish would be a recommendation perhaps?

[Joe Chritz]

With a good finish it is very good stuff for desks.

I like Waterlox or Behlen's Rockhard for wiping varnishes and Target coatings stuff for spray.

Joe

[Brian Muecke]

be sure you fill the pores.

[Robert Chapman]

I'm doing my first project with walnut - dining table and benches. It is wonderful wood to work - no tear out, sands beautifully, takes stain well, is easy to machine. I really like it. If you want a glass type finish then you should fill it - if not it finishes similarly to oak. It will work well for a desk top.

[Prashun Patel]

If it's a writing desk, you'll definitely want to fill the grain.

Walnut, however, isn't as hard to fill as oak - especially if you don't color it. You can either put on a few priming coats of shellac and sand them back level with the pores, or you can use a thinned varnish wetsanded in with 220-400 to create a slurry that you pull into the grain with a soft cloth. It might take a couple more coats and some elbow grease, but if you have the time, it's worth it.

I'm completing a rocking chair using this method, and it feels just yummy.

[Frank Drew]

Walnut's a really beautiful furniture wood that seemed to fall out of fashion, at least among my customers, in the Eighties and Nineties; at the time cherry became all the rage.

I think you can build a very satisfactory finish without specifically filling the grain; Matt's suggestion of a short oil varnish (basically an indoor varnish) would give you a very durable finish, either quite bright (gloss) or matt or anywhere in between. Takes care in applying, though, since it's slow drying.

I agree with Shawn that a few primer coats will do a lot of level the pores; I don't think it's quite as porous as mahogany, for instance.

I've used Mohawk's Tung Oil on walnut with great results; multiple coats really build, and on a dresser top I see every day there's been no wear or tear and it's been maybe twenty years since the finish went on.

If you don't dye or stain it it will turn a very beautiful copper gold color after a few years.

But be sure to work on the desk, not into it; write on something other than a single piece of paper, etc..

[Ralph Okonieski]

I completed a walnut desk for my wife about 1-2 months ago. We put a glass top on it to protect it from the monitor, writing, etc. Certainly not as attractive as without it, but the glass does let the finish show through.

[Matt Armstrong]

I actually like the eventual "usage" dings that result in desks. To me, it's like a workbench - hard to ding up initially but eventually it becomes even more usable and beautiful after it shows its service record.

But that's just me.

[Al Navas]

How well will walnut work for writing/computer desk tabletop that would be in daily use? It's not that hard kind of a wood - I have to be so carefull during sanding not to ding it.

Igor,

The following is a sewing table I made for Sandy, my wife - she even attaches a magnifier on the walnut top:






The legs are also walnut, and the tenons on the aprons are drawbored into the legs. The aprons are quarter-sawn white oak.

It is in use every day, with her tools on (scissors, etc.) It does show a ding or two, but it is staying beautiful. After sealing with dewaxed shellac, I finished by spraying with Target Coatings' EM2000wvx varnish.

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